Germans accuse UBS of sub prime ‘mis selling’

ONE of Germany’s biggest financial institutions is to sue UBS, the Swiss banking giant, claiming it was mis-sold hundreds of millions of pounds worth of sub-prime securities.

The action is expected to trigger a wave of similar lawsuits across world financial centres as institutions seek recompense for losses incurred from buying complex financial instruments that are now worth a fraction of their original price. It will also heap further pressure on Marcel Ospel, UBS’s embattled chairman, to resign.

Sources familiar with the situation say HSH Nordbank, which has assets of €207 billion (£155.8 billion) and is the world’s largest provider of shipping finance, is to take legal action against UBS to recover up to €500m that was lost in a vehicle, set up six years…